Huffington Post: Tommy Thompson, Senate Hopeful And Former Governor, Says He's Not A 'Professional Politician'
On March 13, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:
In all, Thompson has served 35 years in public office and another four years as a Cabinet official, not counting the time he spent running for office. Thompson is 70 years old, meaning that he has spent at least half his life in politics. Nevertheless, on Tuesday, Thompson insisted that he is not a "professional politician."
POLITICO: Santorum Clings To Team Of Pals
On March 12, 2012, POLITICO reported:
“Every day we track as the Romney campaign touts endorsement after endorsement from lobbyists. So for the Santorum campaign to not fight back and show that Romney’s attacks are totally hypocritical is asinine,” said Ty Matsdorf, senior adviser at the oppo-slinging Democratic independent group American Bridge. “If it was malpractice for Gingrich to take four months to fight back against Romney’s Fannie/Freddie attacks, this is even worse because given how weak Romney is, with a little bit better of an organization Santorum would be cruising to the nomination.”
Huffington Post: Josh Mandel Senate Campaign Aides Block Democratic Trackers
On March 9, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:
When Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel (R) formally kicked off his Senate campaign earlier this month, a scuffle in the back of the room drew attention away from him. A Mandel aide was using his hands, body, head and hair to block a state Democratic Party employee from filming Mandel as he spoke and gladhanded around the room. The practice of taping opponents' public comments, known as tracking, is common but some in Ohio said Mandel's campaign is the "most aggressive" in blocking it.
Mediaite: Iran, Iran So Far Away: Mitt Romney Talks Tough Now, Wanted To Check With Lawyers In 2007
On March 6, 2012, Mediaite reported:
On the heels of President Obama’s tough, well-received speech to AIPAC this past weekend, leading GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney is out with a butch new op-ed that continues his self-reinvention as a foreign policy Chuck Norris. However, progressive SuperPAC American Bridge has released a web video to remind Americans that, just like his declaration that “any president” would have greenlit the Osama bin Laden raid, the Mitt Romney of 2007 clucked a different tune.
The Grio: Rodell Mollineau Leads Major Obama Super PAC
On March 5, 2012, The Grio reported:
But Mollineau's group specializes in research. It hires "trackers," usually young campaign staffers, who follow Republican candidates around with video cameras, looking to catch them making controversial remarks, or ones at odds with their previous records. It also investigates the writings, and other public records, of candidates like Mitt Romney, trying to find negative information about them that can then be sent to reporters and used in stories.
Akron Beacon Journal: State Treasurer Announces He’s Running For U.S. Senate
On March 1, 2012, the Akron Beacon Journal reported:
During a nearly hourlong appearance, Mandel’s staff tried to obstruct the view of two people shooting video of the candidate’s public address, Cohen said. One camera belonged to American Bridge 21st Century, a self-proclaimed Democratic-leaning political action committee. The organization’s president, Rodell Mollineau, said his group tracks Mandel’s events and are regularly obstructed at public events. It was Cohen who noticed the Mandel staffers putting paper in front of the lenses. He said he asked them to stop, and they obliged. “It is Akron Press Club policy and tradition that anybody who wants to record audio or video is free to do so,” Cohen said afterward. “We’re the Press Club, after all. We’re all about free speech and free press. We would protect [Mandel’s] rights just as strenuously.”
Huffington Post: 'Virginia Is For Lugars' Website Unveiled Attacking Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar
On March 2, 2012, the Huffington Post reported:
Democrats are almost as entertained by Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar's residency questions as Lugar's Republican primary opponent, state Treasurer Richard Mourdock, and have whipped up a new website called Virginia Is for Lugars" mocking the fact that Lugar lives in the Washington, D.C., suburbs.
AP: Snowe's Retirement, Kerrey's Entrance Highlight New Optimism In Democrats' Bid To Hold Senate
On February 29, 2012, the Associated Press reported:
Rodell Mollineau, president of Democratic group American Bridge 21st Century and a former spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, echoed Garin's optimism. "If you look at the numbers, where we are, and the places for potential pickups and the strength of our incumbents, I think we're in a good place now," Mollineau said. "I think we've been in a good place; people are just starting to recognize it. This week put us in an even better place."
ABC News: Mitt Romney's Surrogate Headache: Can't Live With 'Em, Can't Live Without 'Em
On February 27, 2012, ABC News reported:
[Jim] Talent, a senior adviser to the Romney campaign and former senator from Missouri, recently spoke on a conference call to call Rick Santorum out as an over-spender. But as the Democratic super PAC, American Bridge, was only too pleased to point out, the conservative Club for Growth once called Talent out for exactly the same kind of spending behavior. "In his previous time in the Senate, prior to losing to [Sen. Claire] McCaskill in 2006, Talent voted to raid the Social Security Trust Fund, for the infamous 'Bridge to Nowhere' earmark, and for other pork-laden budget busters," the Club wrote in a 2010 news release, unearthed by American Bridge.
Arizona Republic: McCain Trashes Romney (In Super PAC Ad)
On February 23, 2012, the Arizona Republic reported:
This being the video age, however, a pro-Democrat super PAC like American Bridge is not going to let McCain (or probably American voters) forget what the former senator said about the man he now says should be president. The PAC has released a video, which I’d guess will get a lot of TV exposure should Romney become the Republican nominee. The title is: “What does McCain really think about Mitt Romney?”